Careful What You Wish For
by Shannon Vega
Summary: On Hiatus...A magic ring and a wish:  what could go wrong?  A thoroughly modern schoolteacher and her friends find themselves at the business end of pointy objects wielded by our favorite knights.  A hopefully new take on knights coming to the future.  ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I own nothing save characters not appearing in King Arthur. This story is not meant to insult, impugn the dignity of, or otherwise cause difficulty for the reader. Flames will be used to heat my house, constructive comments will be welcomed and used to improve the story._

Author's Note: I've seen this done by other writers and thought I would try my hand at a knights come forward in time story. Please, be kind. Or don't be kind. As you are all well aware by now, I live for reviews and also tend to update more when I get more reviews. Strange but true.

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**Careful What You Wish For**

Chapter One: The Wish

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"Erin! Phone!" shouted the strawberry-blonde, cordless phone held aloft as she looked up the staircase.

A tall redhead bounded down the staircase then leaned across the banister to snatch the phone from from her shorter older sister. Flashing the redhead a grin, she glanced at the caller ID. "Thanks, Kate," she offered before pressing the phone to her ear. "Hey, Charlotte," she called into the phone before jogging back up the stairs the three sisters shared.

As her youngest sister, Megan, liked to point out, they were like the Charmed Ones without the magical destiny, uberevil or hot guys. That made Kate, ever the practical sister, point out that the three sisters therefore had nothing in common with the famed Halliwell sisters.

Kate, having delivered the phone, now turned back towards the kitchen, rubbing her neck and shaking her head. The semester was finally over, she reasoned as she wandered down the hallway, and for the next three months she would be free of administrators, students and parents. The only people that the third grade teacher would be answerable to would be her two sisters who had come home to spend the summer with their older sister.

Her sisters were each home from college and grad school respectively and were using their old family home as home base. Of course, Kate, as matriarch of their little clan, had missed her baby sisters far more than she would ever admit. Especially since for the last six years since their parents had passed she'd been mom, legal guardian, and big sister all rolled into one.

Kate opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of grape juice. Grabbing a glass, she poured the juice and took a sip.

"Kate!"

Kate sighed and set the glass on the counter. She smothered a grin as Megan, all platinum blonde dye job and exuberance, barreled into the kitchen. "What is it, Magpie?"

Megan grinned at her oldest sister. Kate had nicknamed her youngest sister Magpie because of Megan's unending habit of collecting jewelry and other shiny objects. "Hey, can we have some friends over?"

Kate's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Megan shrugged. "We haven't celebrated yet."

"Celebrated what exactly?"

Megan perched on one of the stools at the kitchen island. One thing was certain about their late parents--they had both had exquisite tastes. The kitchen was stone, granite, and teak and looked like something out of a designer showroom, even over six years since their deaths. "Well, you're jolt of sanity in dumping that two-timing Neanderthal otherwise known as Richard, for one."

"Hey!"

"And the fact that you are on vacation for three months, as are both Erin and I. But for you it's from the joys of parochial school. Then there's the fact that all of are in the same zip code."

Kate quirked an eyebrow. "All of whom?"

Megan blinked. "Why we three and Isabelle, Sophia and Charlotte, of course. Okay, well, Charlotte and Sophia are in London still but they may be able to come for a quick visit."

Kate picked up the glass again and took another sip. "But Isabelle's here?"

Megan nodded. She wasn't sure how her oldest sister had befriended a viscountess. But Isabelle was very cool, very rich, and very earthy. She actually kind of reminded the blonde girl of a young Sophia Loren. "Yup, she's in town. And she wanted to take you out to belatedly celebrate your birthday."

Kate grinned. "Then I approve. Sound's like fun. And why don't we let them stay here. After all, hotel prices are atrocious and it's not like we don't have the room."

Megan nodded and bounced on the stool. Turning on the stool, she bellowed, "Erin, she said yes!"

Kate rubbed her ears at the answering whoop that sounded from the second floor and watched her younger sister bound out of the kitchen, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

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"I come bearing booze!" announced the curvaceous brunette at the door. Isabelle Sandoval, daughter of a Spanish viscount and a now world-famous artist, stood looking immaculate in the ninety-eight percent humidity and ninety-nine Fahrenheit degree heat.

Kate grinned at her very best friend and swept the leggy brunette into a hug. "Then welcome to Casa del Happy Hour." The alcohol was quickly handed off to the two younger Kincaids and the two eldest girls left to talk.

Isabelle grinned back. "Please tell me we are going to a club. I am tired of discoteques. I want to grind to something that's not trance." Suddenly Isabelle stopped mid-beg and pulled the eldest Kincaid from the hallway into the living room. "I have a surprise for you. Happy twenty-seventh birthday, friend of mine."

Kate watched as Isabelle plucked a jewelry box from her purse and handed it her. "Oh, Izzy, you didn't have to do this," she murmured as she lifted the lid of the box and gasped.

Isabelle grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Found that in Soho. It absolutely screamed your name."

Kate gasped, slowly and carefully plucking a ring from the velvet interior. "Wow, Isabelle. This is beautiful. You shouldn't have," she whispered, sliding the ring on the ring finger on her right hand.

Isabelle giggled. "Supposedly it's infused with ancient Druid magic. The dealer kept rattling on about Caerleon or somesuch. It's supposed to make a wish from your heart come true."

"So I take it that the seven studly and well-armed knights from the King Arthur movie are just going to appear in my basement?"

Isabelle shook her head. "Still on about that movie?"

Kate shrugged, already fiddling with the ring on her hand by rocking the band around her finger. "Sorry but I've given up on men from this time."

Isabelle grinned again. "Come on. You've been a good girl. Now it's time to be wild with your best friend. Now grab your coat and your purse and come on." The brunette hugged Kate again before hurrying to the hall and grinning at the two women already descending the stairs. "Come on, you two. Let's show your ancient sister a good time."

Kate's eyes sparkled as she opened the door. "Come on. If we hurry, we can get some dinner before we hit the clubs."

None of the women heard any sounds emanating from the basement. They were all too distracted by their own excitement at a night out.

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The jangling of keys in the lock would have alerted anyone that someone was coming in. Feminine giggles quickly followed.

"Kate, you are a bad, bad woman. And you don't even have alcohol to blame since you were the DD."

Kate glanced at a clearly buzzing Isabelle and smiled. "Yup, that's me. Evil incarnate." Suddenly she paused, nose wrinkling. "Christ, did the sewer back up?"

The other women stopped as well, the smell permeating their alcohol sodden senses. They quickly put their hands over their noses, trying to block out the smell. It smelled like the worst body odor ever combined with blood and sweat.

"Erin, check the upstairs bathroom. Megan, check the master. Izzy--"

Isabelle was already heading towards the kitchen. "I'll check the powder room and the kitchen. I'm going to need a drink to deal with this smell in any case."

Kate nodded, already heading towards the basement and the sewer connection there. Assignments given, the four women split up and began to check for a source of the smell, not realizing that it originated from seven unwashed bodies from the fifth century.

Having descended the staircase, Kate quickly crossed through the finished basement, noting that Erin and Megan had a mess to clean up down here from what looked like a food fight. The furnace room, her target, was in the corner of the house and she opened the door, flicking on the light at the door. The room was quickly flooded with a pale yellow glow. Even though she wasn't a plumber, she could tell that the pipes hadn't burst down in the basement. There was no smell and there was nothing coming from the pipes. The furnace room smelled like dust and old cardboard boxes. Frowning, Kate turned the light off again and closed the furnace room door.

The smell had to be coming from somewhere else, but where?

She mulled this over as she once again climbed the basement staircase back to its access point in the hallway.

Pushing open the door, she gasped as a burly arm hauled her into the hallway.

"Kate!" shrieked Erin from where she was being held, a length of cloth being wrapped around her head and muffling any further screeches.

Kate stomped down, driving her stiletto into a boot and earning a curse and release from a brawny grip. Backing away, she had a moment to realize that she was facing seven very familiar faces, one of whom was now limping and fixing her with a supremely pissed expression. "Oh, shit," she muttered. They had each drawn their pointy objects and were now slowly advancing. "I am so screwed," she muttered, hitting the wall.

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Arthur sat down on an ottoman and frowned at the women bound in front of them. They did not seem to be Woads but then what were they? They certainly did not dress like either Romans or Britons. They showed far to much flesh to be respectable women. He decided to risk the wrath of their apparent leader and by far the most scantily clad of them.

Motioning to Dagonet, he watched as the broad-shouldered knight swiftly untied the copper-curled girl's gag and as she moved her jaw, relaxing it. Once she had turned her gaze to him, he leaned forward expectantly. "Are you prostitutes?"

Kate, who had just been ungagged, gaped and sputtered. "Are we WHAT?" She glanced to the side to find Isabelle had tears streaming down her cheeks and was shaking with apparent laughter. Her best friend's reaction was mirrored by her little sisters. Great, they all thought this was a joke. "We are not prostitutes," she ground out, "you---"

A squeak that barely made it past the gag drew her eyes to Isabelle, who suddenly had a fearful look and was shaking her head vigorously.

Kate sighed. "I'm calm." She fixed the confused Roman/Briton leader with a glare patented to put eight year olds in their place. It didn't work so well on Arthur Castus, apparently. "I'm a teacher, sir."

The looks on the men's faces clearly stated what they thought she might teach.

Arthur glanced at Isabelle, now motioning for the large Sarmatian to ungag the other women. "Are you also a teacher?"

Isabelle was still laughing softly, though with the removal of the gag the sound was now able to join the soft shaking of her body. "No. Just ridiculously wealthy," she replied, already shifting into flirt mode.

Kate groaned and let her head drop forward, her hair falling in a curtain in front of her face. Wonderful. Her best friend was flirting, they were bound though no longer gagged and at the mercy of a bunch of fifth century warriors. Just peachy.

"Um, why are you here?" piped up Megan.

The knights shook their heads.

Kate glanced at Isabelle, whose mouth had formed an "O" of surprise. She shook her head, hoping that Isabelle wouldn't blurt out Kate's earlier wish.

"Your wish," murmured Isabelle, looking at Kate.

Kate cringed.

Arthur looked at Kate again. Well, he didn't look. He stared intently. "You had a wish?"

Kate gulped and her blue-grey eyes scanned the men's expressions. "You're not going to kill me, are you?" she whispered.

Bors crouched down in front of her. "Depends."

Kate gulped again. Oh, she really should have wished for a boy band to show up. At least then all she would have to do is listen to whiney lyrics and repetitive themes. "I--I--I--wished….um…for some characters from a movie to show up."

Arthur frowned. "What is a movie?"

Kate frowned. How was she going to explain a moving picture, let alone the contrivances to show that movie?

Erin had been watching her eldest sister quickly digging herself deeper that ever before. "Um, a movie is like a play but the actors are captured in pictures like paintings. And the paintings move."

Kate looked gratefully at her red-haired sister.

Arthur considered this explanation. "What was the name of this movie?"

Kate blanched. Oh, so not the question she had wanted to be asked. "Why would that matter?"

Isabelle nudged her older friend, nodding towards the men who had all gained expressions of frustration. "Stop the stalling and just tell them."

"Sure, tell them that I'm the reason that they're here. And should I offer to flambé myself while I'm at it?"

Isabelle glared at her friend, watching with her dark chocolate eyes as Kate finally relented.

"King Arthur. The movie was King Arthur."

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**TBC...**

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	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I own nothing save characters not appearing in King Arthur. This story is not meant to insult, impugn the dignity of, or otherwise cause difficulty for the reader. Flames will be used to heat my house, constructive comments will be welcomed and used to improve the story._

_Author's Note: I am so sorry that I'm taking so long to update. My normal writing time is being beaten into oblivion by the fact that my two-year old daughter Michelle doesn't want to sleep in her own bed, won't sleep if I don't go to bed at the same time, and is going through the terrible twos. I'll try to update as quickly as I can but I can't make any promises. Thanks for being so understanding and thank you for reading and reviewing. Oh, and if you have any ideas on how to get my daughter through the terrible twos without my losing my mind or how to get her to sleep in her own bed without a screaming fit, let me know. And, as always, responses to your wonderful comments are at the end of the chapter. _

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**Careful What You Wish For**

Chapter Two: Coffee

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The coffee dripped slowly through the filter and into the carafe, four pairs of eyes watching intently. It had been decided that the need for coffee overrode any other, including the seemingly overwhelming desire of the knights for more information. The knights had decided that they didn't have to once again bind the girls but were keeping a close eye on them.

"I've never seen anything take so long to brew," grumbled Megan.

Isabelle snorted, brown eyes riveted on the dripping coffee. "Espresso. The way papi brews it, we'd be waiting for another hour." She grinned and reached forward, grabbing the carafe out of the way and holding her coffee cup under the drip. "Mine." She slid the coffee carafe back under the drip as soon as her cup was full, pulling her own cup back to her. Her eyes closed as she took a sip, breathing a sigh of pleasure.

There was a moment of silence and Isabelle opened her eyes to find three pairs of eyes looking at her as if she was crazed. "Caffeine," she offered in explanation.

Kate shook her head and slid off the kitchen stool that she had been sitting on to cross to the refrigerator. "So, how do we get them back to wherever it is they came from?" she asked, nodding towards the knights as she pulled open the freezer. She pulled out a pint of ice cream and lifted the lid off. "Ah, divinity, thou art lovely," she murmured as pulled open a drawer and plucked a spoon from the drawer.

Erin raised an eyebrow as she watched her oldest sister scoop a spoonful of sinfully decadent dark chocolate ice cream into her mouth. "You've been reading too much poetry," she scolded lightly. "You made a wish. What if you make another wish? Wish them back to wherever they came from?" she suggested, waving at the knights.

Kate nodded. "Alright." She set the ice cream on the counter and closed her eyes, fingers closing over the ring on her right hand. "I wish that the knights from the King Arthur movie would go back to the reality of the movie and leave my house."

There was a collective holding of breath.

"Um, Kate, it didn't work." The women opened their eyes to find Isabelle grinning at Arthur, the Roman/Briton commander blushing under the gaze of the Spanish beauty. "Yum," murmured Isabelle.

Kate reached across the kitchen island and smacked her friend's arm. "Down, girl. You're scaring him."

Isabelle shrugged, licking her lips and imagining all the things she could introduce the one and future king of the Britons to. "Pity. So, wishing them away didn't work. What's next?"

Kate sighed, leaning against the island and counting to ten before opening her eyes and returning the ice cream to the freezer. She shook her head. "I don't know." She looked to the knights. "But we've got to do something with them."

Lancelot cleared his throat and padded towards the four women. "We can hear you. And do we not have a say in what you 'do with us'?"

Kate cocked her head to one side and looked up into the brown eyes of the lothario. "Honestly? No."

Lancelot chuckled. "Did you not wish us here? Obviously you desire our company," he rationalized, taking another step towards the woman.

Kate shook her head, backing up and brandishing her spoon like a sword. "Bad Lancelot, no biscuit. Now go back to your fellow knights," she ordered uncertainly, pointing towards the other knights with the spoon, "while I try to figure out how to fix this."

Lancelot frowned. This was not the normal reaction he had with women. Well, with women other than Vanora, that is. "Come, I shall show you bliss as you've never seen before," he offered.

Sputtering laughter erupted from the other three women, earning a glare from Kate at all three. She tossed the spoon into the sink.

"Oh, don't waste your time, Lancelot. She's not that kind of girl," offered Isabelle with a wicked grin.

Kate glared at Isabelle, who was wiping moisture from the corners of her eyes. "Shut up, Izzy."

Isabelle shrugged and got down from the stool, slowly advancing on Lancelot like a jaguar, thereby distracting the curly-haired knight from Kate. "Come with me, you sizzling hunk of Sarmatian goodness," she ordered, linking arms with the lothario.

The other knights watched as the brunette dragged Lancelot out of the kitchen. They turned almost as one to the Kincaid sisters.

"Um, Kate, what if we call Charlie and Sophia? That," she pointed to the ring on Kate's finger, "came from there. What if they go to the shop where Isabelle got the ring?"

Kate nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was four o'clock in the morning on the eastern coast of the United States. Which made it considerably later in England. "Got it." She picked up the phone, only to have a hand close over the phone.

"What are you doing?" demanded Gawain, his blue eyes cautious.

Kate motioned to the phone. "I'm going to use this device to contact a friend of mine and see if she can do some recon on this ring." She held up the ring, wiggling the finger it was on so that the stone winked in the light.

The knights nodded uncertainly as Kate clicked the phone on and proceeded to dial the international number for the hotel Charlie and Sophia were staying in.

Kate tapped her fingers on the coutertop, counting the rings.

"The Black Rose. How may I direct your call?" asked a clipped British voice.

Kate smiled at the other people in the kitchen. "I need to speak with either Sophia Maddox or Charlotte Delancey."

Moments later the phone was again ringing.

"Please, please, pick up," whispered Kate.

"Who is it and why are you calling me after I've finished a bottle of tequila?" growled the woman on the other end of the phone.

"Charlie?"

A cough and a muttered, "Yes, Kate."

"Charlie, I need to have you do me a huge favor."

A pause and Kate could envision her friend sitting up on the hotel bed. "As long as it doesn't require coherent thought, I think I can manage."

Kate swallowed a smile and glanced again at the knights. It was apparent that they were growing impatient. "Coherent thought might be helpful. Do you know where Isabelle bought my ring?"

A gasp. "She already gave it to you? That minx! Sophia's gonna be pissed. Did you like it? Did it fit?"

Kate nodded. "It fits and I love it. But do you know where it came from?"

"Yeah, some shop in Soho. Expensive stuff and lots of it. The old guy in there looked like something out of one of your D&D games." There was a pause and it sounded like Charlotte took a drink of something. "Why?"

Kate fiddled with the ring, turning her back on the knights as she considered how to explain the situation. She was interrupted, however, by a rather manly scream coming from the upstairs bathroom.

Six men pounded out of the kitchen towards the source of the manly shouting.

"I'll call back," she offered hurriedly before tossing the phone down on the counter. Kate raced up the stairs, following the shouting towards the master bedroom. Swallowing, she stepped through the doorway, not surprised to find all of the knights crowding into her bathroom. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"He's taking a shower whether he likes it or not!"

Kate gaped at a fully dressed and wet Isabelle, who was standing dripping water onto her tiled floor and glaring at a sopping wet and partially clothed Lancelot in Kate's shower. Shampoo had dripped into his eyes and he was flailing wildly for the Spanish beauty. "And getting yourself wet was--?"

Isabelle shrugged. "I had to get him under the spray, didn't I?"

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"Look, I didn't know that she was going to trick him into a shower, Arthur," growled Kate.

Arthur glanced at his best friend, now draped in a huge blue bath sheet that managed to cover him from neck to ankle and his clothing consigned to a machine for washing. "You should have told us."

Megan, who had been listening from beside Kate, arched an eyebrow. "Tell you what? That you smell? Hello, you all stink to high heaven." She dropped onto the edge of the bed, motioning to the bathroom. "And while Isabelle's methods may leave something to be desired, she got Lancelot wet and lathered. Now he doesn't smell half as bad."

The knights frowned and sniffed, not smelling anything other than their usual scent after a long patrol. And this was so offensive?

TBC….

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**To My Wonderful Reviewers: **

Alex: Thank you. It's wonderful to hear that you're enjoying it so far. Hopefully it'll keep on. And, please, keep your reviews coming. Thank you.

Heloise: Yay! Thank you! So glad that you like the characters and that you're enjoying Isabelle. Yup, it's possible that Arthur may get a lady. And, yes, it may not be Guenevere. We'll see what happens with the other two girls. And if I find a ring like that, we'll time-share, okay? Thanks and please keep your lovely reviews coming.

cleopatra32003: Yup, another story. And thank you--it's lovely to hear you say that you're set to enjoy. Yup, bring on the culture shock. And showers…oh, boy. Please, keep your reviews coming. Thank you.

emerlovesdevlin: So glad that you enjoyed the first chapter. Here's more and thank you. Thank you for thinking that I'm talented. That's wonderful to hear. And with wonderful reviews like this, how can I not write more?

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